SCOTTS VALLEY, CA • January 16th, 2020 — Universal Audio (UA), a leading manufacturer of professional audio recording hardware and software, is proud to introduce LUNA Recording System, a full-featured music creation, recording, and analog-style production system shaped by over 60 years of analog audio exploration.

Deep Apollo Integration — Fast, Natural Workflow
Unlike traditional DAW software, LUNA Recording System's tight hardware-software integration allows quickly routing and recording audio through DSP-powered UAD plug-ins with no discernable latency via the new Accelerated Realtime Monitoring feature. Accelerated Realtime Monitoring is poised to be a major revelation for those unaccustomed to working on a $10k+ DSP-assisted recording system; music production will instantly seem more robust, dependable, and intuitive, without latency or monitoring hassles.

Built-In Neve® Summing — Instant Classic Console Sound
LUNA Recording System offers precisely emulated audio summing circuitry from the Neve 80-Series audio mixing consoles designed by Neve Electronics in the 1960s and early 1970s, featuring the harmonically rich sound of the Neve 1272 summing amplifier. Far beyond a “summing plug-in," Neve Summing is a LUNA Extension built-in to the fabric of LUNA's mixer —
and can instantly transform a clean technical mix into a classic-sounding recording filled with energy and life.

LUNA will be available as a free download for Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo and Arrow audio interface owners for macOS systems and is shipping in Spring 2020. LUNA is not compatible with Apollo FireWire or Apollo Twin USB.

A magical half analogue half digital tape machine. Plugs in with Thunderbolt and can be added as a plug-in in your daw/console with no need to ever change the 4inch tape. The Ultimate digital analogue mojo machine???

Initially I thought UAD3 because of the "big new announcement" thing, but then the Luna thing with the tape makes me think it might just be as simple as a new tape emulation plugin. Maybe with something like Studio One's one plug across multiple busses working as if it's multiple plugins tech.

And the box will be an ethernet (or Dante?) connected processor that runs the UAD platform - their console (that may turn into a full mixer) and plug-ins, perhaps even with its own OS, perhaps that a monitor could connect to, that can be accessed by any computer/daw on the same network.

If it's a new Apollo like thingy, I'll be pissed as well as I just dropped like six grand updating my Apollo's to the new ones... haha. Hopefully it's something cool that can at least play with them and not replace them.

I would love it to be a decent DAW controller, but that tape video doesn't really fit that idea.

Actually, the pastel coloured lines on the promo page look line tracks or lanes on a DAW... maybe they're releasing a DAW or something more mix focused like the Harrison Mixbus?

Ding Ding Ding!! I noticed those lines and they don’t look like part of the promo image, they look like GUI elements. I’m wondering if it’s a Nagra sized multitrack tape unit with 8- ??? channels of UA IO that utilises their Unison tech to give you all sorts of tape emulations where they’ve even modelled every individual channel of multitrack machines. The tape reel may be endless. Alongside this they may have software that is DAW’ish without being a DAW. A front end similar to Console. You may be able to physically interact with the tape reels in ways that influence the software. This may integrate with the networked cloud audio theories floating around and UAD plugs.

Hmmm, sounding like something they see as a major breakthrough. Who was it that mentioned UA invested heavily in this?

Apollo = Mission to the Moon. Luna = Moon. We have “arrived” I guess.

Though many say they don’t want a DAW, I do wonder if UA’s vision all along has been to create the entire system .

Yeah the email says "groundbreaking new system, poised to change the music-making universe" which, even accounting for marketing hype, is setting the stage for something big. Using that kind of language without a product to back it up would make for a disappointing launch, whatever it is.

Yeah the email says "groundbreaking new system, poised to change the music-making universe" which, even accounting for marketing hype, is setting the stage for something big. Using that kind of language without a product to back it up would make for a disappointing launch, whatever it is.

Similar to the email I got from PA before they went subscription lol. I'm more hopeful this time around.